Although the development of vaccines has lead to a dramatic reduction in many bacterial diseases of man and animals, bacterial diseases remain a major problem.
Such diseases can be acquired through various routes, including the respiratory tract, the alimentary tract, the skin and the mucosa, by sexual transmission and congential transfer.
Bacterial infections involving the respiratory tract are generally acquired by inhalation or ingestion of microorganisms from the air or by direct or indirect contact with respiratory secretions. The skin and adjoining mucosal surfaces offer a natural barrier to invasion by pathogenic bacterial species. However, minor abrasions, insect bites, and traumatization by surgical procedures can break the host's natural barriers and permit colonization by transient as well as indigenous bacterial species.
Microorganisms are ingested daily, and most are destroyed either by enzymes or acids encountered in the stomach and intestinal tract and/or they are eliminated in the feces. The ingested bacterial pathogens that survive their route through the intestinal tract may give rise to a variety of diseases. Some ingested bacterial agents from contaminated food or water, for example, may remain localized in the intestinal tract giving rise to the typical symptoms of gastroenteritis, whereas others that infect the gastrointestinal tract may penetrate the epithelial barrier and invade the bloodstream and cause systemic infection.
Bacteria can be identified and classified in various ways, including the use of a test called the Gram stain. By the Gram stain test, bacteria are classified as either Gram positive or Gram negative. The difference between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria relates, at least in part, to the different cell wall structure in Gram positive bacteria as opposed to the cell wall structure of Gram negative bacteria.
Various specific treatments are available for treating infections caused by a specific genus and/or a specific species of bacteria. There is, however, a need in the art for a method for treating (and/or preventing) bacterial infection which uses an anti-bacterial agent that is safe and effective for internal administration in humans and animals while at the same time is effective for treating (and/or preventing) infections caused by a wide variety of Gram positive bacteria.